1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a locking device for locking a lid or the like, and more particularly to an electric locking device particularly used in a motor vehicle for locking a trunk lid, a back door, and an engine hood or the like by using an electric motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Utility Model First Provisional Publication No. 58-27457 shows an electric lid locking device which comprises a lock proper mounted to a trunk lid and a striker mounted to a vehicle body. The striker is held by an electric striker mover which moves the striker downward upon energization thereof. When the lid is pivoted down to its half-closed position wherein the lock proper is half-latched with the striker, the striker is thereafter moved down by the striker mover pulling down the lock proper and thus the lid to a full-closed position wherein the lock proper is fully latched with the striker.
According to this locking device, the full closing of the lid is readily achieved by only pushing down the lid to the half-latched position. That is, upon half-latching of the lock proper, the same and thus the trunk lid is automatically pulled down to the full-closed position compressing a seal strip mounted on the periphery of the trunk opening. This device thus lightens the labor of a person who intends to close the trunk lid because he or she does not need to fight against the counterforce produced by the seal strip when the lid is fully closed.
However, due to its inherency in construction, the above-mentioned conventional locking device has the following drawbacks. That is, since the heavy and bulky lock proper is mounted to trunk lid, the weight of the lid is inevitably increased thereby making the opening motion of the lid dull and the bulky construction of the lock proper interrupts smooth loading and unloading of luggages into and from the trunk. Furthermore, since a lock condition sensor is mounted on the trunk lid and the electric striker mover is mounted to the trunk body side, it is necessary to employ a troublesome wiring of electrically connecting these two parts. In fact, the wire extends unsightly through a hinge member of the lid.